APPLICATION OF THE SLOVENIAN VERSION OF THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF LJUBLJANA

Abstract

The research project „Design of a Comprehensive Incident Command System for All Levels of the Disaster Management System in the Republic of Slovenia (ICS-URSZR)“ delivered a new concept of incident response management, and the Municipality of Ljubljana used it to manage the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We used the tools provided by the Incident Command System and adapted or used them as a basis for improvisation, depending on the characteristics of the pandemic, the characteristics of the response, and the level of our own knowledge and experience. In particular, the organizational structure proved useful, allowing all participants to quickly identify their place in the response, the participants and superiors involved, and the complexity of the response as a whole. This increased transparency, facilitated communication, reduced duplication of effort, and accelerated both the identification of outstanding issues and the positioning of their implementation in the appropriate place in the organizational structure. The use of the planning process was less successful, which we attribute to a lack of the training, material, and IT resources to use it.